I would like to thank Nazia from Orbit for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price – £14.99 hardback £8.99 Kindle eBook

Neither here nor there, but long ago...

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artefact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything - her enemy, her magic, even her own past - is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

Obviously I love books but we must remember the story pre-dates the written word. The storytellers told tales in inns, markets, temples andover many a fire in a night sky. Those tales have echoed through the centuries and even today’s books pay them a tribute as well as enhancing them to be fit for the current and future generations to come. Just one of the reasons I love reading stories and that’s why I was absolutely delighted when I read Chelsea Abdullah’s amazing The Stardust Thief that both pays tribute to Arabian myths and delivers most of the most enjoyable reads of my year so far!

Long ago in a desert kingdom the world is still recovering from war with the Jinn. The Sultan of the land is keen to see any found to be hunted and executed. His oldest son Omar regularly uses his forty thieves to seek these dangerous creatures. The Sultan’s other sons are kept close in the palace asked never to leave including the lover of the ancient stories Prince Mazen. The Sultun though seeks one of the most precious magical objects which is hidden in the strange shifting desert known as The Sandsea. For this mission the Sultun recruits/forces the infamous Midnight Merchant Loulie al-Nazari to find this object, Mazen and one of Omar’s trusted thieves accompany Louilie into the desert. But Loulie’s own gift for finding magical objects is just one of her many secrets as her long-term bodyguard Qadir who knows her best happens to also be a Jinn and the mission is soon to uncover ancient secrets, betrayals and many many monsters.

This story starts small with Mazen and Loulie crossing paths appropriately enough both trying to see an ancient storyteller but it becomes a very very entertaining rollercoaster of epic fantasy. What jumps out is Abdullah’s storytelling ability. Although told in third person here the tone is fast, colourful and often beautifully described to captivate a reader. This style very much reads almost like you’re hearing a famous story being told to a packed room. Moving from palaces to deserts to den of thieves and ancient haunted ruins the story flows with bright energy and yet I very much also appreciated the itricate plotting as each set piece builds the next up mini adventure and also a uch older story with a focus on the secrets of the mysterious jinn.

This is where Abdullah has skillfully mixed in elements of the myths we may be familiar with in particular the Arabian Nights tales and subtly tweaked them to fit her own fantasy world. We see the Forty Thieves as a secret police arm sworn to kill Jinn, magical objects are abound and the Jinn can be both evil or good depending on your point of view and theirs. It’s a clever mix of the familiar and the reinvented so the reader should never feel too comfortable thinking they know what’s going to happen.

In terms of characters here also Abdullah plays with various familiar ideas. Our Prince Mazen is definitely not a warrior to the other’s amusement but more a would be storyteller loving initially his trips out the palace but about to find adventure hard. Our key focus though in this book is the character of Loulie who is definitely not a damsel in distress. The surviving member of a lost desert people she has has hooked herself into an adventuring merchant looking for profit. Wits, sense of humour and an ability to fight make her a very interesting fellow lead to Mazen. But Abdullah also gives us two really interesting characters full of secrets. I loved Aisha the member of the Thieves sent to accompany the party who has a fascinating amoral sense of purpose and yet you can’t help liking her sense of honour and the journey she goes on. The most enigmatic is Qadir the first Jinn we meet and he managed to be wry, somber, wise and also highly secretive. A lot of this book explores who the Jinns and the types that exist and while he is a mix of father/brother to Loulie we also have him as a guide to explaining the Jinn and his people’s story sets up the entire series to come.

All

Of this is smartly inserted into an adventure tale that has armies of the undead, angry spirits, sea monsters and shape-shifting creatures as well as a fair about of body swaps. It’s delivered gloriously and I love how each main character has a chance to shine and take the lead plus that rarest of things people actually tell each other their secrets (most of them) and so we get an interesting found family dynamic starting that made me really care what happened to everyone.

As you might tell I am very very impressed with this debut fantasy. Smart, heartfelt and inventive it’s exactly the type of fantasy tale I did not know I was in need for. Perfect for summer reading and I think also gives us a writer to watch because I sense this series will get only more epic and interesting. Run and get it and you will not be disappointed - strongly recommended!